Hepatitis C is a disease affecting the liver and can cause chronic liver disease as well as cirrhosis of the liver. The main cause of Hep C is infected needle use by drug users. However, there are other causes as well. Contact with infected blood, razors and tattoo/body piercing tools can also cause the disease. An infected mother can pass the disease onto her newborn. This disease is not easily spread through sexual contact.
Symptoms include flu like symptoms, yellowing of the skin, fever and discoloration of stools and urine. However, there may be no symptoms at all. Treatment for Hep C includes daily innoculations of Interferon along with the anti-viral agent, ribavirin. The course of treatment lasts about 1 year, often longer. There are some cases of complete remission, mostly in the United States. Rarely can anyone claim to be "cured".
Anyone having a blood transfusion or who has used a non-sterile needle for drug or tattoo use prior to 1992 may be at risk. Health care workers, dialysis patients, infants born to infected mothers and those having sex with multiple partners are at particular risk.
The best way to avoid contamination is to practice safe sex, clean up spilled blood with a chlorine bleach product, avoiding shared razors and tooth brushes and avoiding street drugs and tattoos altogether.
Developing countries are experiencing an increase in Hep C outbreaks due to the fact that the population continues to use infected needles for illicit drug purposes as well as for medical purposes in the hospitals. Non-sterile environments in hospitals and other places such as low-cost clinics can increase the chances of contracting Hepatitis C.
There is no vaccine available for Hepatitis C so it is best to take precautions against contracting the disease by any means possible.